Sunday, May 13, 2012

I heart Venice

Well we're back! Finally opened our front door at 11 pm after a long day that started with a leisurely morning of walking around my new happy place aka Venice Beach, and ended with a long wait for our luggage culminating in the realization that the airline had indeed lost our carseat (Seriously? You couldn't have lost the pack 'n play?).

We did manage to make it home though, and it is good to be back, but a bit bittersweet in the way that coming home from a really good vacation always is. Thankfully it's warm and balmy here in Van, actually warmer feeling than LA was when we left, so that lessens the blow somewhat. Spending a whole week hanging out as our new family of three was a-mazing. This was our first real vacation post baby, and I think we were all a bit giddy with how much fun it was.

First of all, I kind of lost my heart to Venice. There are a very few places I've travelled where I instantly felt at home. Actually the only other place I felt that way was in Berlin. We rented a tiny apartment, ate at yummy cafes, walked the boardwalk, played in the surf, got way too much take out from Whole Foods, and generally let ourselves relax right into the Venice vibe. So much so that our host, Jodi, didn't even recognize us when we bumped into her on the street ("Wow, you guys really fit in here" - her words made my day, haha). Everyone was so friendly, and there are trees that grow lemons and flowers flowers flowers everywhere. And all the houses are so cute, and if we only had a few million dollars we'd be moving down there right away.

I've always loved southern California (you know, the one other time I was there), but didn't think I could handle the cars. Well, Venice is perfect for that because you don't really need to drive. We could have done just fine without a car for the week, although we did make good use out of it, taking a roadtrip to Malibu, to the Getty Villa, driving up to Mulholland Drive, checking out Beverly Hills (where James hopped out of the car while I was nursing H and stole a copy of the Beverly Hills Courier off someone's front lawn - it was pretty fun to read about what makes the local paper in richy rich land).

And speaking of H, that kid rocks! Seriously, he is an amazing traveller. He was so happy to sit in his stroller, nap in his stroller, ride around in the car, and generally be carted around town all while he flirted shamelessly with everyone he met. He even slept pretty well in his pack 'n play leaving long evenings for James and I to make use of the hot tub and Netflix at our 'house'. All of this while he got a tooth!

I'd like to share some more experiences travelling with a baby, but for now I'm heading to bed to dream about the magical week we had and how we can get back there someday.

I live in beautiful, rainy Vancouver, and these days I'm kicking around the city with my new son and my smarty pants husband. In a previous (and future) life I am a meteorologist. I express my non-artistic self through crafts (knitting, weaving, sewing just a bit), and sometimes if the mood is right I love to cook and bake. I write about what's going on in my life and these days that's motherhood.